It's been raining all week in Cagayan and Isabela. Nonstop. I kid you not.

Yesterday, it had been raining for about five days, and we woke up to find that rainwater had accumulated on the floors of our veranda in Tuguegarao, Cagayan.

The plants surrounding the veranda and the rest of the house were drowning in rainwater.

This was yesterday. The crate must be floating by now.

My dad and I were supposed to drive to Santiago, Isabela (165 kilometers from Tuguegarao) over the weekend, but we decided not to wait for the Cagayan River to overflow like it usually does when it rains continuously like it has, the past few days.

In Cabagan, Isabela, it's business as usual for these kids, who milk their carabaos early in the morning and sell the bottled milk to passing motorists. My parents and siblings and I have been driving to this town since we were kids, just to buy carabao's milk. For this trip, we bought everything on the little table. The ones in the pail too :) Each bottle sells for 25 pesos (a little more than half a US dollar).

It was a good decision to leave when we did. When we got to the Cagayan-Isabela boundary, the river underneath this bridge had already reached the bottom of the bridge and was inches away from overflowing.

People and pigs seeking shelter under a waiting shed in Ilagan, Isabela.

The sights just kept getting worse and worse :(

The Cagayan River swelling. The last time this happened was last year, I believe, following typhoon Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng, which devastated Manila and other parts of Central Luzon.

The river almost reaching the elevated highway.

I wonder what he hopes to catch in these waters?

A cow looking over what used to be its playground. I mean, pastureland. Rice fields in many parts of Cagayan and Isabela are now under flood waters.

I imagine the cow must be saying, "We haven't fully recovered from Typhoon Juan yet! Please stop raining already!"